As James Harden exits to Philly, the Nets’ experiment ends in failure – Yahoo Sports

The Brooklyn experiment ended mercifully, almost abruptly. The long dalliance with the Philadelphia 76ers finally consummated with a trade that could rank among the best in recent history considering the star power.

James Harden forced his way off the team after forcing his way to Brooklyn one year ago. Kyrie Irving keeps himself as a part-time player, which no doubt rankled Harden in the process. Kevin Durant, the man this revolves around, has watched his grand plan blow up in smoke, and was no doubt weary of Harden no longer being onboard.

Getting Ben Simmons depending if Simmons mind, body and soul are right seems like the best possible consolation prize, and make no mistake, the Nets dont make this move without Durants blessing or urging.

They wouldve been better off choosing the Knicks. Perhaps it wouldve been just as predictable and combustible, but at least it wouldve been memorable and under the backdrop of Madison Square Garden.

Scary hours? Meet nightmare on Broad Street.

Championships, fun times and reformed reputations were supposed to be how this played out. Instead, there was no depth or consistency and flaky characters playing true to their histories.

This venture ended with Nets coach Steve Nash publicly claiming till the last minute Harden would be a Net, even though Harden seemed to have long checked out of this franchise. Its hard to pinpoint exactly when it all went downhill, but we cant point to the high moment because there isnt one.

The Brooklyn Nets reportedly traded James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday before the NBA trade deadline. (Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

But the commonality seems to be, when someone is ready to leave the party, everyone knows it long before the music stops.

Harden was arguably one day away from furniture moving in the locker room in Houston before being sent to Brooklyn, and his hamstring has tightened up at precisely the right time this year exactly when whatever joy hes played with has been replaced by a forlorn look of disengagement and desperation.

He stomped his feet, grabbed his hammy and went home. Even if his discontent came from a sliding scale of rule application concerning Irvings in-out-in status, he benefited from that power structure many times before.

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Remember that Ill inject him [with the COVID-19 vaccine] myself statement he made about Irving? Remember him jettisoning Chris Paul from Houston when that relationship went sour? Its no fun when someone else has the gun.

When Irving is ready to exit, scorched earth is usually behind his suitcases a smirk and who me explanation is often to follow. For Durants part, hes not as much an active participant in the four-alarm fire, but he wont tell you where the fire extinguisher is.

Harden will probably look close enough to his old self in Philadelphia as a second option next to Joel Embiid and being next to that old, comfortable blanket and binky, Daryl Morey. But his act has been so much of the focus, its taken the eye off his play taking a sharp decline as he approaches his mid-30s.

Making the assumption hell be reborn with a change of address and a long-term deal underscores that lately weve rarely seen the best of him and as his salary will continue to increase, hell be compared to his MVP-like standards against the heavy-handed approach from Philadelphia 76er fans.

And we all know Harden stands tall in the face of pressure, never backing down or running away from adversity.

That would require any of this to be about basketball, though, because its been about the drama or if you squint hard enough, the dramedy. Its not quite player empowerment gone bad, but the checks and balances seemed to be in short order on Atlantic Ave.

Irving could very well be the best soloist in the game today. Matched up with Durant and Hardens exploits, it should have made beautiful music.

They were supposed to be the best touring show since Durant took his talents to California, dazzling crowds and puzzling opponents.

But it felt so soulless, so empty, so devoid of any lasting impact. But even when the Miami Heat three were brought together, it felt at least like they were bringing everyone else along, that even when they played the villains it was the entire lot. With the Nets, those three were making their own rules but didnt confer with each other on the actual rules.

It looked disjointed and felt contrived and ugly when it shouldve been anything but. Perhaps the unpredictable pandemic hastened things, but like in any other line of life, it presented a mirror and exacerbated the ills of all involved.

But the feeling isn't because of the way they were brought together, not in sum.

In some ways, the Lakers 2020 title in the Orlando bubble felt hollow, but not because of the way LeBron James engineered a trade to get Anthony Davis out of the Bayou and into Los Angeles it left us wanting more because of the circumstances, not the people.

Had James Heat been disbanded after one year, not winning a title and flaming out dramatically against the Dallas Mavericks, the footprints still would be felt today.

Youd still feel something.

The greatest moment for these Nets wasnt even a team moment it was Durants, and his alone. Harden was a shell due to a hamstring injury and Irving injured his ankle, leaving Durant by his lonesome. He carried the Nets on his back and earned more credit with those 40-balls than even his historic Finals performances against James.

Who knows what Durant picked up from his time in the Bay Area, if he noticed that while it mightve felt chaotic, there was structure between all that freedom and freelancing. When theres anarchy, he wants order. When theres order, he wants to breathe.

Theres no perfect melody or harmony to be derived from this experience, although Nash and Sean Marks and Morey and Doc Rivers will put the best PR face on it in the immediate aftermath.

What can we get out of this?

Maybe an emotionally charged Nets-76ers playoff series one where Simmons wont play in Philly, but Irving will ONLY play in Philly.

Ay-yi-yi.

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As James Harden exits to Philly, the Nets' experiment ends in failure - Yahoo Sports